Whanganui cycling group calls for Rapanui Road trail proposal to be fast-tracked

Sue Campion says most of her cycling group has "experienced near misses" in areas like Rapanui Rd. Photo / Bevan Conley

A Whanganui cycling group is calling for a proposed rural cycling and walking trail to be fast-tracked due to safety concerns.

As part of its next 10-year plan, Whanganui District Council has plans to build an 8.3km shell-rock trail along Rapanui Rd, connecting State Highway 3 with Kai Iwi Beach.

However, construction of the $2.4m project isn’t scheduled until between 2032 and 2034.

The Whanganui Tramping Club’s cycling group has started a petition to bring it forward.

Petition organiser Sue Campion said 40 members rode together every Tuesday.

She said she was grateful to the council and NZ Land Transport Agency Waka Kotahi for building shared tracks within the city but Whanganui lacked a substantial, safe track outside its boundary.

“At present, we ride a number of roads which can be dangerous for cyclists,” she said.

“These include Tayforth, Rapanui, Brunswick, Blueskin Roads, State Highways 3 and 4 and No 2 Line from Durie Hill to Fordell.

“Most of us have experienced near misses and fear we will one day lose someone due to the speed and poor driving standards of some drivers passing and approaching us.”

The idea for the trail was brought to the council last August by the Kai Iwi Beach Community Group.

During its presentation, group member Janice Handley said residential growth was expanding in the area, on top of existing farming and horticultural operations.

Westmere School principal Phil Walker.

There were also significant public recreational areas - Westmere Lake, Bason Botanic Gardens and Kai Iwi Beach - and two educational facilities, Westmere School and Rapanui Brunswick Playcentre.

That had led to high volumes of traffic and activities such as biking, walking and horse-riding were “very unsafe”, Handley said.

Earlier this month, three people were injured - including one critically - after a single-vehicle crash on Rapanui Rd.

Westmere School principal Phil Walker said for pupils to go to the lake, a bus had to be hired to travel less than 500 metres.

“I want these kids to be more actively involved in knowing the local environment and knowing our local stories,” he said.

“Being able to get there is pretty important.”

Walker said the trail would allow the kids to bike to the Botanic Gardens, local dairy farms “and if they’re really keen, all the way to the beach”.

“With that opportunity, it opens our classroom.”

Whanganui mayor Andrew Tripe said the first few years of the 10-year (long-term) plan were about doing the basics.

“Later on in our draft plan you’ll see some more aspirational areas, which, by definition, are those areas which are more of a community want, rather than a need,” he said.

“In saying that, the fact that trail is in [the plan] is because it will benefit a whole lot of people right across the board.”

Safety was another important aspect of the project, he said.

“Cars go quite fast along there. It’s a great cause, which is why it’s included, but whether we can bring it forward or not depends on a lot of factors.

“Right now, [council is] really focussing on affordability and our six-point plan to keep rates as low as possible.”

Brian Doughty says the tramping club's cycling group is travelling to New Plymouth, Hawke’s Bay or Palmerston North for longer rides.

Campion said as well as benefitting the Whanganui community, the trail would be a tourist attraction for out-of-town cyclists and walkers, “just as the riverside track leading onto Linton Army Camp in Palmerston North has proved to be”.

He Ara Kotahi, a 9km pathway that links Palmerston North city to Massey University and Linton, had 600,000 trips in its first year of operation, in 2019/20.

“Our members are generally aged between 65 and 85 and we cycle to stay fit and healthy and to enjoy the company of like-minded friends,” Campion said.

“Time and again we see them cycling when, for health reasons, they can no longer tramp or go for long walks.

“To have a long, safe track out to Kai Iwi beach and back would be invaluable for them, along with the many thousands likely to use it.”

Brian Doughty, Whanganui Rural Community Board member and “back-up president” of the tramping club, said the proposed trail could drop off peoples’ radars if it was left for too long.

“One of the problems the club has is if they want to do some biking of note, apart from the trail up to Upokongaro, they have to go to New Plymouth, Hawke’s Bay or Palmerston North,” he said.

“If we had good cycleways, it stands to reason that people would come to Whanganui to go biking as well, and spend money.”

He said it was important to have a good working relationship with the council and be kept up to date with the project.

“I’m not sure about Waka Kotahi and how much funding they would come up with, or whether they come up with any.

“That is something we would need to sit down with council about and say ‘How can we find funding for this?’ and ‘What do we need to do?’.

“Hand in hand with council, we need to find out the best way of doing it.”

Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.